


In the Darkness, I Will Meet my Creators

by paperbluehyacinth (infiniteleecity)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Character Deaths, M/M, Post-Apocalyptic, SUPERHERO FIC, War Fic, dystopian au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:29:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28311633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/infiniteleecity/pseuds/paperbluehyacinth
Summary: In an abandoned orphanage, at a clearing in the forest, lived children who exhibit abilities who were considered not normal. They were hidden away from the world because the mere presence of them causes unease.When a war threatens to break out, and the government starts attacking their safe place, they decided to stand up and fight - or at least try and get away from it.
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung
Comments: 1
Kudos: 11
Collections: Children of the Attic Series, NCTV Secret Santa 2020





	In the Darkness, I Will Meet my Creators

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Cieleniti](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cieleniti/gifts).



> I literally found out that who I'm gifting this too is one of my favorite writers in the fandom and I am so anxious!! 
> 
> This is my first time doing anything of this genre -- I would usually stay away from it just because superheroes are so complex and there's so many things you have to consider but I found my imagination really stretched and I am really just happy I was finally able to write this. This is also my first time world-building and I am lacking a lot but I hope it'll work. 
> 
> This has barely been edited and would continually be edited after postings. Also this would be part of a two/three-part series, each series will have at least 3-5 chapters. I will post Chapter 2 & 3 soon.

**The Real History of "The New World" written by Hiroki Osaki** **  
**

_(this article has since been banned for public viewing. Anyone caught having a copy of this will face the appropriate punishments)_

In 2052, an atomic bomb landed in the West Philippine Sea causing a strong earthquake and massive tsunami, obliterating the surrounding countries. This was the start of the Third World War.

With half of Asia underwater, the Eastern Countries started to defend what was still theirs while the Powers of the West continued claiming land that wasn't theirs. They used whatever means they deemed necessary to win the war (or end it) — AI technology, war weapons whose only purpose was to kill, and the atomic bomb. The whole Earth was screaming and burning in terror.

The war ended seven years later when no one was left to fight. Those who survived, the very few of them, died from radiation from the atomic bombs. 

Earth ceased to exist.

* * *

On the Eve of the first anniversary of the end of the war a miracle came in the form of a young man — normal looking as if no war ever grazed his skin.

He searched far and wide to find any survivors and alas, at the island, once known as Jeju-do, South Korea, 14 survivors lived. They had survived the war and the radiation barely scathed. Nobody knew why the radiation from the war didn't affect them and nobody asked. What they cared for was survival, and revival — they needed to restore the Earth the best they could.

It took 127 years for the Earth to be restored to its liveable state. The excess radiation of the bombs now moulded into the air they breathed and no one could tell the difference — whether it was still there or not. They only lived in one island, because the water beside them seemed to go endlessly, and it was futile to try and find other land. They were satisfied and that was where they restored the civilization. The original survivors had since died and their children took the responsibility of restoring the Earth from them followed by their children's children. Another 50 years passed before the Earth that they now have mirrored the Earth that they once knew, or even better. 

They called their new home Vision City.

During the birth of the fourth generation, an anomaly seemed to rise from the children. A child with glowing skin, and pale grey eyes was born. She was the eldest of the fourth generation and though the earlier generation was scared of her, the next children after her exhibited the same strangeness. The next child, a boy, could lift a boulder at the age of three, the next one after them could transport himself to one place in the speed of a second. 

The Elders called these children 'The Visionaries'.

Soon children with special abilities filled their land and the children after them continued. But after the sixth generation, a young boy with pale skin and dark eyes showed no abilities at all. He was in fact, normal.

He grew up envious of the other children around him who flew to places and conjured objects out of thin air. As he grew up, he heard taunts and insults — words that toughened his resolved to leave the city once he was old enough to do so.

On the eve of this young man's eighteenth birthday, a boy with superhuman strength taunted this man. Enraged, the young man took a spear to the young boy's heart killing him instantly. Outraged, friends and family of the boy demanded for justice. Fearing another war in the world they've only barely restored, the Elders stepped in.

They exiled the young man and everyone like him — those without special abilities — making them promise to never return. The Elders then promised that no Visionary will find themselves out of the bounds of the city. 

And so the young man, with his small band of people set away from Vision City — across the trees and over the mountains.

Satisfied to be far enough, he started his goal — to rebuild a land where normal people like him will never be abused for their lack of talents: The New World.

The Young Man was called the High Reeve — the leader of the New World.

* * *

The New World thrived for hundreds of years, without a threat to their land. What they never realize was that genetics was such a strange thing — having ancestors originating from the Visionaries, special abilities soon caught up to the New World.

The first child born with powers was immediately executed, so was the second. Soon enough, bodies started piling up and unrest started manifesting around the people. Fearing of a revolt, the High Reeve (who never seemed to age at all) created a rule that whoever finds themselves with a special child must give the child up to the government in exchange for a wealthy bounty. Soon enough, families sold off their children for food on their tables.

The children were sentenced to years of experimentation — their powers used as bioweapons in case the New World might need it. That was how the New World managed the people who were different from them and that’s how the New World continued to strive. 

_(the next part of this article was removed by the author and had never been published for public viewing)_

_In a mansion, in the edge of the forest lived three families: the Kims, the Jungs and the Nakamotos. These families exhibited special abilities that the government would despise but with their bonded help they managed to evade the government long enough._

_One winter day, as they celebrated Christmas, the head of the Kim Family sensed danger. He asked the children's nanny, Ms. Oh, to take the children to the attic and to keep them there._

_Danger came and took the families away and nothing was heard from them again. The house was then turned to an orphanage, but was soon abandoned when no children seemed to survive._

_It stayed as a dilapidated and abandoned house to this day._

**DAY 1** **  
  
**

**_Vision City._ ** **_  
_ ** **_2:40 am_ **

Qian Kun paced his office, trying to make sense of the vision he saw. His skin glowed at the light of the sunlight and his pure grey eyes looked around his office.

A knock on the door made him stop pacing.

"You called for me," a man asked peeking into the room. Kun's shoulders dropped in relief.

"There is something I need to tell you," Kun said to the man. The man entered the room and pulled a chair across from where Kun was standing.

"It looks important," the man said. Kun nodded.

"I saw something — different futures all having the same beginning," he swallowed and took a deep breath. "There's going to be a war. A world, who had always felt inferior, will rise up against us in their thirst for ultimate power; they've been preparing for it for years," Kun explained.

The other man looked worried, but he pressed on, "Is there anyway to stop it?"

Kun sighed, "One of the futures requires two seemingly opposite powers to work together to save the world."

"Only one future?" the man asked. Kun nodded sadly. "Which means we only have one shot to save the world," the man voiced out. "Will they come here?"

Kun walked from his desk to the window and looked out on the city that he was in charge of. It took him a few breaths before he answered, "They must. It's the only way they would survive."

"Do we know them?" The man asked. Kun nodded, "They're the sons of the Visionary families in the New World."

The man looked confused for a second. "You said two of them will save the world — but there are three families and four sons," he started. Kun shot him a sad look and he understood. The man nodded in understanding and stood up.

"I must go and warn the others then. We must prepare," Kun nodded letting him walk away.

"Ten," Kun then called before the door opened, "Be quick. They'll be here soon."

 **_City 127.  
_** **_A City on the Outskirts of the New World  
_ ** **_The Orphanage.  
_ ** **_3:00 am_ **

A loud scream woke up the residents of the attic. Footsteps shuffled through the halls to see what was going on in the room at the end of the hallway.

"Chenle. Chenle, wake up!" Jung Jaehyun said shaking his roommate awake. He conjured a small fire to illuminate the room as his close friend, Nakamoto Yuta, trudged inside the room. "He's not waking up," Jaehyun said as they looked down at Chenle who was still thrashing in his bed. Yuta sighed and touched his hand on Chenle's forehead, temporary diminishing the young man's powers. A few minutes later, Chenle's breathing slowed down, and he started calming down again 

A sigh of relief echoed around the room.

"I'll cool him down," Kim Doyoung, another one of their roommate, said. 

Once everything settled down, Lee Taeyong started ordering everyone to go back to their rooms and try to get some more rest. 

Yuta motioned Jaehyun to follow him. 

"Did he say anything in his sleep?" Yuta asked as soon as Jaehyun caught up to him. The latter shook his head, diminishing the fire in his hand. Only the light from the hallway windows cast a glow in the room. "He's been hearing too many voices recently. It's been interfering with his sleep," Jaehyun explained.

"This wasn't the first?" Yuta asked, his voice hitching. Jaehyun shook his head, guiltily. We've been walking up the past few days to him breaking out in cold sweat. This was the worst — he never screamed like that," he explained.

"Why did you never tell me?" Yuta asked through his gritted teeth. 

"I never saw a point to it. I thought it was just nightmares," Jaehyun said. Yuta sighed.

"Let's ask him if he remembers anything in the morning. It's better to just get some rest for the night," Yuta said. He opened the door to his room which signalled Jaehyun to leave. Jaehyun walked back towards his room seeing Jaemin peek out from his. "Do you want to check up on him?" Jaehyun asked, nodding to Yuta's room.

"It's just, taking someone's magical power drains energy from him. I just want to see if he's okay?" Jaemin asked worriedly. He had his eyes on Yuta's room the whole time and hadn't glanced at Jaehyun at all. Jaehyun smiled and patted the young man's shoulder. "Go on then. I'm sure he'll appreciate it," Jaehyun said.

When he got back to his room, he saw Doyoung crouching down beside Chenle's bed and soothing his forehead.

"Is he alright?" Jaehyun asked sitting beside him. Doyoung nodded. "He's snoring now. He's fast asleep." Jaehyun started tucking Chenle in, making sure that it was warm around him. Doyoung watched him carefully. 

“He reminds you of him, does he?” Doyoung said. 

“Of whom?” “Your brother?”

Jaehyun smiled, before standing up and walking to his bed, “I think every young kid reminds me of my brother.” 

He started to climb back on his bed, “Good night, D.”

Doyoung checked on Chenle one last time before walking back to his own bed. “Good night, Jae,” he whispered even though he knew Jaehyun wouldn’t hear him. 

**_The Attic._ ** **_  
_ ** **_The Room at the End of the Hall  
_****_11:20 am_**

Jaehyun woke up with the sun shining on his face from the open window. He looked around, spotting the clock that said it was past 11 am. He groaned, not believing he had slept in.

The door to the terrace started to open admitting Kim Doyoung inside the room. 

Doyoung smiled when he spotted Jaehyun awake. "I noticed the doors start defrosting. I assumed you were awake already," Doyoung said as he removed the snow from his hair. Jaehyun sat up and noticed the food beside his table.

"I didn't know how long you'll be asleep, so I got you food in case the young ones finished breakfast," Doyoung explained when he noticed Jaehyun staring at the plate. He then wiped the back of his neck dry before saying, "Chenle's in Donghyuck and Jeno's room playing monopoly. He said he wanted you to be there when he tells us about his dream."

Doyoung moved across the room and retrieved a chair. He started moving it towards Jaehyun's bed then decided against it and instead, sat just near his bed — not too close to be uncomfortable. Jaehyun watched him and smiled. "We've known each other since we were children, Do. You can come closer."

Doyoung, still unsure, dragged the chair a little closer. "It's just… your food is already frozen," he started explaining but Jaehyun shook his head, lit a fire and started defrosting his food. Once it was heated, he started eating.

"Anything happen while I was asleep?" Jaehyun asked. Doyoung looked around awkwardly trying to recall what Chenle told him that morning as he was getting food. Doyoung rarely got out of their room — he tended to freeze everything around him just by standing in one place. Chenle and Jaehyun had been used to him being his roommate, and besides, whenever Doyoung froze the room, Jaehyun will just unfreeze it. There was a natural balance inside their bedroom which was why Doyoung never liked going anywhere without Jaehyun even if it was just outside the room.

"Donghyuck caused a mess again," he said with a slight smile. Jaehyun laughed and urged him to continue. "Yuta's fine from last night" he recalled, " Jaemin said he just needed a long rest. He woke up a few minutes before you," he said, explaining that the windows to Yuta's room opened just before Doyoung felt the glass doors of their terrace defrosting. "Oh, and Taeyong went out."

Jaehyun stopped eating.

"Went out? Like outside the house?" Jaehyun asked.

Doyoung scooted his chair closer and nodded. 

"How was he allowed to leave the house? We've been here since we were born and hadn't been allowed to go out?" Jaehyun said. There was bitterness in his voice and Doyoung knew the feeling. He had wanted to go out too, to at least get some sun, but the only "outside" they were allowed to go to was their terraces.

"Ms. Oh needed help to buy Christmas gifts. She was supposed to take Yuta, but Taeyong volunteered to go," Doyoung explained. Jaehyun sighed, "What was she thinking? Yuta wouldn't be able to resist sucking the energy out of everything once they get to Electric City."

Doyoung shrugged, "That's why Taeyong volunteered. Ms. Oh is old, and been taking care of too many children. She must have forgotten. Besides, you know how Taeyong is. If there's anything he can do for us, he'll do it."

Jaehyun bit on the last piece of his burger steak and stood up, with his empty plate. "I hope Taeyong will be okay," he said as he made his way to the door.

"I'm sure he can resist not using his super-speed for a few hours," Doyoung answered. Jaehyun opened the door and beckoned Doyoung to follow.

"Come on, we need to talk to Chenle."

 **_The Attic.  
_** **_Yuta’s Room  
_ ** **_12:15 pm_ **

Yuta, Jaehyun, Chenle, Doyoung, Jeno and Donghyuck were in Yuta's room as Chenle started recalling his dream. The rest were on kitchen duties and would probably just hear about it from Donghyuck later anyway.

"They said there was going to be a war soon and some had been preparing for it for a long time," Chenle started. Everyone looked at each other warily. There hadn't been a war in centuries.

"Did you see who they were?" Yuta asked. Chenle shook his head. "I only heard the voices, and the surrounding noises."

"It must be true then." Donghyuck exclaimed. "What do you mean?" Jeno asked.

"Well, if he only heard voices then someone must be talking about it somewhere. It must be true," Donghyuck explained. "Or they might just be reading a book." Yuta inputted with a shrug at the same time that Jeno said, "Can Chenle even hear that far? I mean I know he has a great sense of hearing, but we don't even know how far he can hear."

Jeno looked at Chenle, a question still resting on the tip of his tongue. "Can you hear conversations in the Capital?" He asked. Chenle shook his head. "That's too far," he explained. Jeno stared at Donghyuck while pointing at Chenle as if proving his point.

"Maybe they're near," Donghyuck said. Jaehyun piped in asking, "Can you even predict something like that? It's not like war is weather? Even that we can’t predict accurately. "

Yuta snickered, "Look at us, Jae. If we're capable of doing these," he said montioning around all of them, "then that means someone out there is capable of predicting a war."

 **_Vision City  
_** **_3 pm_ **

Qian Kun was finishing his tutoring session with his student Xiao Dejun, a blind telekinetic, when a vision came to him. The snacks he had been offering to Dejun fell on the floor. 

"Is everything okay, Kun?" Dejun asked. He tried to listen to Kun’s movements trying to locate where he was. He felt the chair beside him move, and just assumed that Kun probably sat down. Dejun heard Kun call for the guard, instructing them to get Ten.

There was an awkward silence, with Kun only telling him that he’ll explain once Ten arrived. The door opened, and Ten’s familiar footsteps echoed on the floor. 

Once Ten was inside the room, he asked what happened. Dejun explained what happened before allowing Kun to explain his side.

"An act of courage, a mistake, sacrifice," Kun uttered. Dejun looked up at where he assumed Ten was. 

"What?" Ten asked; his voice betraying the same confusion that Xiaojun felt. 

"It begins," Kun said "the war begins."

 **_The New World Capital  
_** **_3:10 pm_ **

Taeyong was walking alongside Ms. Oh when the older woman asked to be excused since she was going to the comfort room. Taeyong nodded and sat on an empty bench, the shopping bags laying beside Taeyong’s feet. 

He observed the people around him, all of them had their eyes cast downwards, looking at small boxed-devices. Taeyong had heard of those before: mobile phones, what they used to communicate. City 127 was a poor city and barely anyone there owned any of what the people of the Capital owned. They just didn't have the luxury.

Taeyong was fine with it. He had always been in the attic anyway; there was no point in purchasing too many material things when there was nothing he'd use it for. 

As he waited, he kept tapping his foot on the ground slowly — willing himself not to go too fast. The people of the Capital couldn't know what he was or what abilities he had. He heard of the rumours that the people of his calibre being brought to the High Reeve; he didn't want to have that future.

He continued tapping his foot on the ground as he watched people walk around him. A few minutes later, he saw Ms. Oh walking towards him. He waved his hand at their landlady, only to notice a young girl behind their landlady crossing the street.

She was wheeling behind her a large suitcase with mismatched wheels which didn't really help the girl as she was having a hard time wheeling the luggage already. As she was crossing the street slowly, she didn't realize the light turn red and an incoming truck was barrelling towards her.

The speed at which Taeyong crossed the street and then suddenly having the young girl in his arms out of harm's way made Taeyong realize too late what he had done. There was an awkward silence around him as he looked down at the girl and only when she screamed and leaped away from his touch did the whole situation sink in. 

He turned to see everyone looking at him, phones out as they tried to memorialize what just happened; a video of him was probably already spreading everywhere. He saw Ms. Oh from meters away on the spot they were supposed to meet, a scared and disappointed look on her face.

When the guards started walking towards him did he realized that his act of courage turned into a mistake.

 **_The Attic  
_** **_Dining Room  
_ ** **_7:35 pm_ **

The kids of the attic were busy eating dinner and playing around. It felt calmer than any other day as if there was something they were waiting for but didn't quite know when that something will come or what it is. They were calm because of the unknown but anxious at the same time.

Chenle was biting into his chicken sandwich when he heard a loud bang from downstairs. The walls shook and the room turned silent.

Chenle then heard voices, two of them he didn’t recognize, but one was Ms. Oh. 

"What's happening?" Mark Lee suddenly asked from his table.

"There are guards downstairs," Chenle muttered. Every body tensed. Guards weren't a good sign — all of them knew that.

Donghyuck, who was floating on the ceiling, found himself flying down and sitting himself on a chair.

 _"I didn't know of his powers. I thought he was a normal boy,"_ Chenle heard. The voice of Ms. Oh sounded scared. 

_"Well then maybe we can take a look around at the other children,"_ one of the guards remarked.

Chenle heard Ms. Oh swallow, _"Go ahead,"_ she said, with a slight quiver in her voice that wouldn't have been noticeable but Chenle heard it.

Chenle heard the two guards snicker then they started shifting around. Their footsteps were all over the place — trying to find something they really didn’t know anything about. Their footsteps were heavy on the wooden floorboards; Chenle started hating the sound of boots on wood. He heard the creak of the stairs and tensed. Everybody was staring at him, waiting for a signal, but he only urged them to keep quiet.

"What's up there?" One guard said. Ms. Oh cleared her throat, "Empty rooms. We barely have children any more."

There was a silence before two pairs of footsteps started climbing the stairs. Chenle held his breath. There were sounds of doors being opened forcefully and angry grunts. _They must have kept finding empty rooms,_ he thought. 

_"Are you done yet?"_ Ms. Oh said, her stilettos makingsoft thuds on the ground.

One guard growled, _"If we find out that you're hiding more children like the child at the mall, then the High Reeve will be the one to collect them._

A few minutes later, once Chenle was sure no one was downstairs any more, he released a frustrated sigh.

"So what did you hear?" Jeno asked softly, still afraid that the sound of his voicewill attract the guards.

"The High Reeve has Taeyong,” Chenle said. The tension in the room increased, “and he's coming for us next.”

**DAY 4**

**_The Attic  
_** **_7:30 am_ **

The attic has been quiet the past few days. Chenle stayed on the steps telling everyone that guards had been visiting the house every day, waiting for something to happen.

Johnny was inconsolable without Taeyong and winter felt colder all of a sudden. Even Donghyuck, who had always been a source of joy kept to himself; he was barely flying.

Without Taeyong, Yuta and Jaehyun were the ones taking care of the children. They were both in the dining room, trying to cook up breakfast for the kids.

"Do you think they'll appreciate some toast again?" Yuta asked as he laid down the bread on one of the trays. Jaehyun shrugged. "It's not like we have anything else to offer," he said. 

Ever since Taeyong's incident, Ms. Oh hadn't paid them a visit to the attic just in case one of the guards saw her going or coming from it and investigate. They all thought it was the best idea; if the guards don't find anything in a few days maybe they'll just give up.

A few minutes later, the two of them suddenly felt the air grow colder. Ice started forming on the door which made Yuta grimace. 

"Looks like Doyoung is awake," Yuta said. He took the bowl of potatoes from the table and proceeded to the back of the dining room to wash them. He smirked at Jaehyun before he disappeared from view. The door hadn't opened which made Jaehyun assume that Doyoung probably didn't want to enter. When he opened the door to the dining room, he found Doyoung leaning on the wall outside.

"You don't often come out of the room," Jaehyun said catching Doyoung's attention. He smiled sheepishly before pointing back to their room. "Chenle wanted to sleep but the room got too cold," Doyoung said. Jaehyun nodded in understanding and followed Doyoung back to their room.

Doyoung and Jaehyun had always been together owing to the fact that whenever Jaehyun was around, Doyoung's powers didn't seem to affect anyone a lot. Despite the amount of practice, Doyoung's powers were hard to control. Wherever he goes, he'd leave a trail of frozen things behind. With Jaehyun around, that never happens, as if Jaehyun cancels out his power; with Jaehyun around, Doyoung felt normal.

Chenle was sitting on the foot of the door just outside their room when Jaehyun and Doyoung approached. His head was bent down, and he was swaying, already falling asleep. At the sound of footsteps, he stood up staggering on his feet.

"Let's get you to bed," Jaehyun said as he opened the door and allowed Chenle to lean on to him. He warmed Chenle's bed and defrosted the ice on the wall before tucking Chenle in.

* * *

Jaehyun and Doyoung sat on Jaehyun's bed watching their other roommate, afraid that he’ll have another nightmare especially with the guards close by. 

"He's been up for three days listening to news about the guards," Doyoung said in exasperation. Jaehyun stared at Chenle — peacefulness etched on his face as he slept — and wondered why such a young person decided to carry such a heavy burden. "Yuta said we should do something," Jaehyun replied.

Doyoung released a disbelieving laugh, "What can we do? We're —" he stopped thinking of something appropriate to say, "young," he settled.

"We're different though?"

"That doesn't make us stronger," Doyoung stared at Jaehyun, wanting to keep his point across. "We're not superheroes, Jae. We're just people given abilities we don't know what to do with. We're strange."

"Don't say that," Jaehyun answered. He wanted to place a comforting hand on Doyoung's shoulder but the other guy looked away and Jaehyun decided it wasn't the right thing to do. "I don't want to save the world, Jae. I just want to live normally for once," Doyoung admitted.

"I don't want to keep looking over my shoulders to see if I left a trail of ice again and be scared that someone will take me in and dissect me, and then realize that the only difference I have with other people is that I can shoot ice through my hands."

Jaehyun listened to him speak — listened to the secrets Doyoung had kept for years and was only now telling him. He felt guilty somewhat that Doyoung only thought to tell him this now as if they haven't grown up together.

Despite having grown up knowing their powers, only Yuta and Jaehyun were able to learn how to control theirs — to learn how when to use it and when not to. Doyoung didn't have that luxury. His powers were always too strong, and too big to be controlled that's why he always kept to himself. He always thought himself weak — thinking his two friends were always stronger than he was.

If he thought of superheroes, he'd think of Jaehyun and Yuta but not him.

"I'm sorry," Doyoung said in the silence, "I didn't mean for you to hear that."

Doyoung stood up and started towards the door when Jaehyun grabbed his wrist and forced him to stop. "Do," he started. Doyoung turned back and looked at him. "I'm always going to be here for you no matter what. You can tell me anything."

Doyoung smiled, extracted his hand from Jaehyun's hold and walked towards the terrace, closing the door shut — his way of telling Jaehyun not to follow him.

 **_The Attic  
_** **_Dining Room  
_ ** **_1:05 pm_ **

"You screwed up, didn't you?" Yuta said sitting beside Jaehyun at one of the tables in the dining room. Lunch had just finished and everyone seemed to be in much higher spirits. Even Chenle seemed cheerier after his rest. 

Doyoung was still in their room.

"How can you tell?" Jaehyun asked.

Yuta snickered, "I grew up with both of you. I know how you act when Doyoung doesn't want to talk to you."

Jaehyun groaned and placed his head on the table, forcing himself not to think about it. Yuta, though, leaned back on his chair waiting for Jaehyun to talk to him.

Jaehyun sighed a few minutes later and raised his head, "It's just getting harder to talk to him," Jaehyun admitted. "He opens up to me one second and the next, he's closing me out. It's so confusing."

Yuta threw the unused table napkin at him and clucked his tongue, "Stop treating him like a potential love interest and instead act like his friend. There's really only a thin line between friendship and romantic relationships," Yuta said. "Well, in some cases."

"I don't even like him like that," Jaehyun remarked. Yuta released a loud laugh, and bobbed his head in disbelief. He stood up from his chair and started walking away, "Talk to me again when you've stopped lying to yourself, okay?" he called out before closing the door behind him — leaving Jaehyun much more frustrated than how he felt before Yuta decided to interfere.

 **_The Attic  
_** **_Living Room  
_ ** **_3pm_ **

"One of the guards say they're going to stop coming soon. Their boss is finding no reason to come back without much progress," Chenle said. They were in the living room playing a worn out board game called Clue. Ms. Oh found it in one of the empty rooms downstairs and decided to give it to them to keep themselves occupied.

Chenle's announcement seemed to lift something heavy from the room and a collective sigh of relief was released.

Donghyuck even started floating again, only to be dragged down by Jeno telling him it was cheating to fly now because he would be able to see all their cards.

"That's great news. We can finally try it, Jen," Donghyuck said suspiciously.

"It's still too dangerous, Hyuck," Jeno whispered glaring at his friend.

Chenle was too busy looking at his notes to notice the little exchange. Jaemin, who was also playing with them, watched the two closely wondering what they were planning.

Neither Jeno nor Donghyuck continued on their weird conversation making Jaemin drop his suspicions as well. Jaemin had already been used to the two playing pranks in the attic, and it isn’t much of a surprise that they were planning something new again. Besides, now it felt like everything was going back to normal. Jaemin continued playing, deciding to put the conversation he heard at the back of his mind. 

**_The Attic  
_** **_Dining Room  
_ ** **_6:50 pm_ **

Jaemin promised himself he wouldn't say anything. In all honesty, he had forgotten about the conversation he overheard between Jeno and Donghyuck not until they all decided to have dinner together.

"Aren't Jeno or Donghyuck eating?" Mark asked as he sat down with his plate of food. Yuta looked around only noticing that the two boys mentioned weren't in the dining room.

"I passed by their room a while ago, and it was silent. I thought they just fell asleep after our game," Chenle answered, scooping some mashed potatoes on his plate.

Everybody shrugged it off but Jaemin felt uneasy.

He kept looking at the door, wishing Jeno or Donghyuck to walk in. He barely even touched his food.

A few minutes later, he felt a light tapping on the inside of his wrist. Looking around, he saw Yuta staring at him worriedly. "You haven't touched your food," he said. Jaemin stared at his food as if only remembering he was supposed to be eating.

"I'm sorry. I'm just worried about Hyuck and Jeno," Jaemin admitted.

"I'm sure they're just sleeping." That didn't seem to appease Jaemin at all. He still kept his eyes on the door. Yuta sighed and grabbed Jaemin's attention again.

"Let's go and check on them once you finish your food," Yuta said. Jaemin sighed and nodded.

Yuta mouthed to Jaehyun something making Jaehyun roll his eyes. He heated Jaemin's food, getting a quiet thanks from the younger guy.

 **_The Attic  
_** **_Yuta's room.  
_ ** **_7:15 pm_ **

Jaemin repeated everything he had heard from the game earlier that day to Yuta and Jaehyun — only making them confused.

"I don't really see the point of worrying, Jaem. They're tricksters, the two of them," Yuta said. Before Jaemin could argue, the door to Yuta's room opened.

"I don't mean to interrupt, but you know how I can tell if there's life somewhere — like behind closed doors for example," Mark Lee, looking really shy and embarrassed, said. The three people in the room nodded and urged Mark to continue.

"It's just… I went to check in on Hyuck and Jeno — was going to ask if they were hungry — but there wasn't anyone in the room. I didn't feel anyone in the room," Mark admitted.

Jaemin growled in frustration. . Jaehyun glanced at Yuta and shook his head, "Okay, now that's a cause for concern."

Before anyone else can say anything, there was a loud scream in the study room.

* * *

Jeno was kneeling down in the middle of the study, whispering under his breath. "I told him it was too dangerous. I told him."

When Yuta, Jaehyun, Mark and Jaemin arrived at the study, Chenle, Doyoung and Taeil were already there. "What happened?" Jaehyun asked, putting a hand underneath Doyoung's elbow. The latter looked at him, shaking his head.

"I told him not to do it," Jeno repeated. Tears were continuously flowing from his eyes. His face was twisted in pain causing Jaemin to walk towards him.

"Are you hurt somewhere?" Jaemin asked. Jeno shook his head, wiping his tears but the effort was futile; his tears continued to fall.

Yuta started calling out orders: to Chenle and Mark to get Jeno a blanket, to Taeil and Jaehyun to heat some drinks for him and to Jaemin to calm him down. He told everyone to reconvene in the study in five minutes.

Doyoung stayed beside Jeno, stroking his back. “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry,” he kept saying. Doyoung didn’t try to appease him or comfort him. Instead, he just continued to sit beside Jeno, hoping that he’ll calm down soon. 

* * *

Jeno calmed down only half an hour later. Once he stopped crying, he started retelling his story. 

"Hyuck found out on his birthday that he could pass through walls," Jeno started. "He didn't want to tell anyone yet because he wanted to get used to it and to use it to prank everyone."

Jeno released a strained laugh.

"We were planning for a cool prank, you know, but then he decided that maybe we can go big for Christmas. He can go and steal something from downstairs. Since I'm a teleporter, I can travel downstairs and back with no problem," he took a deep breath willing himself to continue. 

"He wanted to try it out tonight, but I told him that the guards were probably still downstairs, but he insisted it was safe. I told him I won't participate, but then he threatened to do it anyway," Jeno swallowed, and wiped his tears on the blanket around his shoulder. "I went to get a glass of water and the next thing I knew he wasn't in the room any more. I teleported downstairs to see what's happening, and I saw him pass through one of the walls. One guard saw him and — " he stopped as if the next scene was something he didn't want to recall. He started crying again. 

"They took him away," Jeno looked down at his cup. "They saw me too, but I teleported away before they can take me." There was a collective gasp around the room. "They know we're here; they just don't know where. They'll be after us soon. I'm so sorry."

There was only a dreaded silence; Jeno’s cry were the only thing they heard. Fearful glances were exchanged but nobody thought of saying anything. 

They all knew what happened to people like them when they’re caught. Though they’ve only heard rumours, none of the rumours were pleasant. 

Taeil was the first to leave. He slammed the door behind him breaking the silence. 

Jeno kept muttering sorry's under his breath. 

**DAY 7**

**_Vision City  
_** **_9:30 am_ **

"It's quiet," Xiao Dejun said as he heard footsteps from behind him approach. He heard the familiar sigh of his instructor, Kun.

"It's too quiet," Kun said.

"Do you know what they're planning?" Dejun asked. Kun didn't answer immediately. He walked closer to Xiaojun, and placed a hand on his shoulder. 

"I was hoping you’d be the one to see something," Kun said.

"I've been trying," Xiaojun answered. He turned on his chair and faced his mentor. "All I know is there's someone like me working with the High Reeve — a telekinetic. He's blocking my path; he feels important."

"Will he be working with us?"

Xiaojun shrugged, "I only hope so."

 **_The Attic_ ** **_  
_ ** **_10:10 am_ **

Despite the threat of being found, the days after Donghyuck was taken were normal. According to Chenle, no guards visited at all. 

Still, the whole attic was on edge. They knew something was going to happen, they just don't know what it was or when it will happen.

Doyoung had found sanctuary in the terrace outside the living area — a place he never went to before. Taeil had been the one occupying this place, but he had locked himself in his room making Doyoung take advantage of his absence. 

Doyoung had moved to Jeno's room after Donghyuck was taken because the younger guy needed someone to be with. He kept waking up the whole attic from his constant crying in the middle of the night. Only Doyoung was able to calm him down.

Doyoung's move to another room caused another resident to have a trouble sleeping. Having been roommates with Doyoung for all his life, Jaehyun had realized the importance Doyoung had. The room was too hot, and even for someone who was supposed to be used by the heat, Jaehyun found it uncomfortable.

When he had finally got a hold of Doyoung — in the terrace outside the living area — Jaehyun didn't hesitate to join him.

"Hey there," Jaehyun said sitting down beside Doyoung. He didn't know if it was the winter air, or just Doyoung but the air was particularly cold.

"You're cheery," Doyoung noted. Jaehyun shrugged. "I hope we can all have your optimism."

Instead of saying a retort, Jaehyun decided to change the topic. "What are you doing here?" he asked. Doyoung shrugged. "I like looking at the trees."

Jaehyun looked at the trees as well and snickered. "You know, sometimes I feel like the trees look too unreal — like they're an illusion of some sorts."

"You need to get out more, Jae. The indoor is getting to your head," Doyoung said bumping his shoulders with Jaehyun. Jaehyun found himself smiling at Doyoung’s closeness.

_It didn't feel cold any more_

"How's Jeno?" Jaehyun asked in the silence. The mention of their younger friend's name brought a sudden sadness to Doyoung. His face contorted and Jaehyun somehow regretted bringing Jeno up.

"He's been crying, or sleeping, or both," Doyoung answered. "I'm scared, Jae."

Jaehyun stared at him, not wanting to project his own fears but Doyoung patted the back of his hand making him know that Doyoung knew exactly how he felt; he didn't need to lie about it.

"Yuta suggest we should leave," Jaehyun said. "Before more of us get found out."

"Where do we go?"

"Anywhere — anywhere is safer here."

Doyoung sighed and shook his head, "No where is safe," he said. "It's a lie the adults made us believe, so we would never have to look over our shoulder whenver we felt danger. They should've taught us instead how to feel safe in a world where being different means you're prosecuted."

Jaehyun took Doyoung's hand in his. "I can't teach you to keep yourself safe, but I promise I'll protect you. With me, at least, you won't be scared," Doyoung just smiled at him but his eyes showed despair and disbelief. Jaehyun punched his shoulder slightly and smiled, keeping the quiver away from his voice. "You know how our parents told us when we were younger that we're stronger together?"

"You remember that?"

Jaehyun shrugged, "It's the only thing I remember," he let his eyes linger to the trees that surrounded the house and how unreal it all looked before adding, "and it's the only thing I hold true."

Doyoung intertwined their hands together, telling himself that he did it just because it was cold. He noticed the runic tattoo in Jaehyun’s wrist, perfectly aligning with his. “Do you think we’d find him again, your brother?

Jaehyun stared at their tattoos and sighed, “Someday perhaps. I just hope he’s doing okay.” 

**_The Attic  
_** **_Yuta’s Room  
_ ** **_12 PM_ **

"I don't understand why you're packing," Jaemin said. He had checked on Jeno earlier when Doyoung wasn't around and decided to check on Yuta as well, only to find the older man packing.

"I don't want us to be unprepared when we have to flee. You should pack too," Yuta said. "Do you really think we'll be forced to run away?" Jaemin asked.

"It's the safest option now," Yuta answered. Instead of retreating to his room, though, Jaemin volunteered to help Yuta pack.

"Why do I feel like if I ask you to come with me, you won't?" Yuta asked glancing at the younger guy. Jaemin didn't answer. Instead, he picked up a notebook that had fallen underneath the bed.

"Is this yours?" Jaemin asked. Yuta glanced over and nodded. He didn't really find it familiar, but he had been the only one living in this room for years — he assumed everything was his. Jaemin asked to open it and Yuta only gave a small sound of acknowledgement.

 _"To my son, Nakamoto Yuta"_ the front page read. Jaemin flipped to another page, trying to find some other texts. _"In case you find yourself in a situation wherein you have to make a choice, but you couldn't make sense of anything, this journal and all the others will guide you to the correct path. Be wise and strong."_ All the next pages were diary entries which Jaemin read through quickly. At the last page was a torn page, only leaving half of the page behind. Small scribbles were written underneath, _"the prophecy states two sons. I must make a choice."_

Jaemin, distracted, didn't realize that Yuta had been reading over his shoulder. He snatched the book from Jaemin's hand before the younger one could understand any of it and asked to be left alone. With a sigh, Jaemin left the room, closing the door slightly too loud behind him.

 **_The Orphanage_ ** **_  
_ ** **_9pm_ ****_  
_ **

_"We're going to send someone in your care — a very special young boy,"_ the voice was unfamiliar but the way he strung his words made Chenle assume they were guards.

 _"I don't associate myself with those kinds,"_ Ms. Oh's voice echoed in Chenle's head.

The guard released a derisive laugh.

 _"You can't fool us, Miss. We know exactly what you're hiding,"_ Chenle heard the guard walk around the room, and then he whispered, _"For the sake of your life, you will have to do us a favour. Don't tell them who the boy is working for and why he will be there. It'll be easier for you to live if they didn't know anything."_

 _"They're going to find out,"_ Ms. Oh said. Another laughter. _"Perhaps,"_ he said. Chenle heard footsteps again, _"But by the time they do, we'll already have them."_

* * *

The conversation echoed in Chenle's ears as he opened his eyes. He tried to recall every bit of it wanting to remember it for when he'd say it to the other people on the attic. Fortunately for him, Jaehyun and Yuta were in the room, whispering to each other in Jaehyun's bed.

The room grew colder. "You both look like you're plotting something," Chenle heard Doyoung's voice say as the older man entered the room. "We are," Yuta said. He then proceeded to drag Doyoung into the room as if allowing him into the plan since he'd caught them already. They continued talking about a plan to escape with everyone. Chenle heard everything, but he couldn't make sense of whatever he heard.

He coughed, catching their attention.

"Le," Jaehyun called, walking towards him "Couldn't sleep?" 

Chenle smiled. "You three were pretty noisy."

Yuta gritted his teeth, "Did you hear?"

"Most of it," Chenle answered. Yuta cursed. "We do plan to tell you," Jaehyun explained. Chenle shook his head as if saying he didn't care.

"There's something important I have to tell you," Chenle started.

 **_The Attic  
_** **_Dining Room  
_ ** **_9:50 pm_ **

"They're planting someone? What for?" Jaemin asked.

Yuta had asked Chenle to tell everyone what he had said to them; they all gathered in the dining room.

"If they know we're here then why plant somebody? Why not just find us?" Jaemin added.

"They wouldn't be able to," Johnny suddenly said from his corner in the room. "The stairs to the attic is hidden. It's behind a curtain, but only those who know what to find can see it." He shrugged, "I help set it up."

There was a murmur in the room but then Yuta cleared his throat. "He's one of us you say? Someone with extraordinary abilities but is working for the government? How will he track us anyway?"

"Maybe he has supervision? And they see where he goes?" Mark suggested. "Or maybe he has superhuman memory and he'll submit the memories every night," Chenle chimed.

"Whatever his powers are, we need to stop him. What's the point of knowing if we don't do something about it?" Jaehyun remarked.

"What are you thinking?" Doyoung asked.

"He'll stay in our room — he can take your bed, Do," Jaehyun started. He was interrupted by complaints coming from both Chenle and Doyoung. "I'm not going to share my room with someone who would cause my death."

Jaehyun sighed and urged them to be silent. "He won't harm us. I have a plan."

**DAY 8**

**_The Capital  
_** **_8 am_ **

Jung Sungchan sat inside the car waiting for the driver to take him to the orphanage. He had heard the rumours that there were children with special abilities hiding in there. 

As a kid, Sungchan was already sold to the government. The government had wired his brain to some sort of machine so that whenever he was around a strong surge of energy — like being around someone who used their abilities — the government can pinpoint exactly where. It was extremely faulty, of course. Whenever he was around Electric City, he always sensed a strong surge of energy (which had resulted to a lot of failed missions before). Besides, you can never sense someone's energy if they weren't using their powers — something that the government didn’t know about.

Sungchan hated his assignment — hated the role he was given but at the back of his mind he was excited. He had always wanted to escape and maybe this time he can do it.

The doors closed all around him and the car lurched forward. The driver stared at him from the rearview mirror.

"Are you ready?" the driver asked. Sungchan just nodded. "You're doing New World a favour, kid. Be proud of that." He looked outside the window and found himself smiling. _Yes, he'd do someone a favour, but it wouldn't be the New World._

 **_The Attic  
_** **_8:30 am_ **

Jaehyun's plan largely depended on an ambush. Chenle had overheard the night before that the new kid will be coming a little before nine. The whole attic had been awake the whole night planning.

"This isn't going to work, I'm telling you," Doyoung said pacing his room. Jaehyun just snickered. "Don't you trust me?" Jaehyun teased. "I don't trust this whole thing.” Doyoung admitted. “We have so much we don't know about this kid, Jae. What happens if we've underestimated his powers?" 

Jaehyun stood up from his bed, placed a hand on Doyoung's shoulders and said, "Yuta is perfectly capable of taking away his powers for a while for us to restrain him. If that doesn't work, well, we can always go to Plan B."

Chenle suddenly knocked on the door telling them that he heard the cars coming close already. Doyoung sighed but Jaehyun just gave him a small smile. “Trust me, okay,” he said before leaving the room. Doyoung groaned and followed. _He really didn’t have much choice,_ he thought. 

Doyoung caught up to Jaehyun just as the latter was moving towards Yuta’s room. “Why didn’t you tell me there’s a plan B?” he asked. Jaehyun gave him an innocent smile, before shrugging. “There isn’t, but you can think about it now.”  
Doyoung started cursing his friend under his breath.  
  


* * *

The beginning of the plan was for Johnny to disguise the whole attic into one room. Only Yuta, Jaehyun, and Doyoung would be in the room to talk to the new kid — all the others would be in the dining room, waiting.

Doyoung continued telling everyone that there was no reason to go through with it, but he was interrupted by the sound of footsteps, and Chenle muttering that the new kid had arrived.

 _"I'm supposed to stay in the attic,"_ Chenle heard the new kid say.

"He sounds young," Yuta remarked beside Jaehyun. Ms. Oh didn’t answer. Instead, they heard her footsteps retreating and the footsteps of the new kid approaching. 

"Yuta, be ready," Jaehyun said. Yuta smiled, "Trust me. I’m always ready." 

Jaehyun and Doyoung rolled their eyes.

* * *

Jung Sungchan found the orphanage oddly familiar — as if he had been there before. Sungchan shook the thought away, the only places he'd been in were the Capital.

"This way, dear. Don't be scared," Ms. Oh said as she led Sungchan to a series of steps. He climbed step after step; it felt like he was climbing forever.

 _Was this how they made sure no one would find them?_ He thought.

Ms. Oh stopped at a landing. "I can't go any further, but if you climb those few more steps, you'd be there."

Sungchan stared at her in shock and waited for something to happen, but the only thing that happened was Ms. Oh leaving him there.

With a deep breath, he climbed the rest of the steps.

* * *

Whatever he expected the attic would be, it wasn't what he saw. Still, he sensed a strong energy around the room, and he felt as if everything he was seeing wasn't what it really was. On his left side was a door, the only door in the whole attic. With nowhere else to go — he walked towards the door.

"I bring you no harm," he said as he opened the door. There was no one and nothing inside — only a bed in the center of the room. Sighing, he closed the door behind him. Once the door closed, he felt the energy draining away — as if the illusion had shattered.

As he walked towards the center of the room, he felt all his energy drain him. He started using his powers, but he suddenly felt numb, and his mind ached at the effort. _There was something wrong._

Sungchan heard a series of footsteps behind him but as he turned, he saw neither people nor light — only blackness.

* * *

"Take his powers, Yuta, not knock him out cold," Jaehyun complained seeing the young boy on the bed. They didn't expect him to be so tall — his limbs were awkwardly dangling off the side of the bed.

"Well, at least we're sure he won't fight back," Yuta retorted. Jaehyun argued something back but by this time Doyoung hadn't been listening. There was something about the boy that caught his attention — especially the mark on the inside of his left wrist.

Doyoung had noticed a strange rune marked on the new boy's wrist but hadn't really took into account what it really was with what all that's happening. Now that the boy was unconscious, he went to check. On the new boy's wrist, a mark he had seen before and had been very familiar with was inked.

He felt his breath hitch and looked down at his own wrist — at his own markings. It wasn't the same, but it was similar. The tattoo on his wrist was placed there by a sorcerer, Jaehyun’s mother, to always remind himself to what family he belonged to. Yuta had one, so did Jaehyun and the tattoo on the wrist of the young boy looked exactly like the tattoo of one of his friends.

"Doyoung?" Yuta called but Doyoung ignored him. He kept looking at the tattoo. "We've been calling you since a while ago. Is something wrong?"

Doyoung felt the heat of Jaehyun come closer towards him; he felt Jaehyun's familiar touch on his shoulder. "Hey, what are you—"

Jaehyun stopped. Doyoung realized he had seen what he'd been seeing. "Is that…" Doyoung stood up, faced his friend and nodded. "It is. He's your brother, Jae."

 **_The Attic  
_** **_Dining Room  
_ ** **_9:15 am_ **

"A brother?" Jaemin asked. They retreated to the dining room with the rest of the group, leaving Doyoung to watch over the still unconscious Sungchan. (His name was easy to remember when they realized who he was.)

"I didn't know you had a brother?" Chenle said at the same time that Taeil mentioned, "There's so many things going on in this story."

Yuta gave the latter an exasperated look; Taeil raised his hands in surrender.

"Well, we have to continue with the plan. Whether he is your brother, we can't trust him," Mark said from beside Jaemin. "Mark's right, Jae," Jaemin remarked. "He's been sent here to find out about us, he's not going to fight with us."

Jaehyun sighed. "But if I could just talk to him— "

"And do what? Have a family reunion?" Taeil interrupted. "You told us you've never ever seen each other since he was a newborn-baby. He won't remember you."

"But he's my brother," Jaehyun whispered. It was a quiet whisper, too quiet barely anyone heard. Still, in the quiet of the room everyone heard it.

Taeil stood up and marched to the door. "I'm not going to stay here while you try to give someone who can kill us a chance to prove himself," he muttered. He stared at Jaehyun with a determined look on his face. "It's up to you now. Will you pick the boy you barely know, or your family," he said gesturing to everyone, "who's been with you for years?"

The door closed behind him.

 **_The Attic_ ** **_  
_ ** **_The Room at the End of the Hall  
_****_3:00 pm_**

Sungchan woke up a few hours later. He was tied to a chair, facing the terrace. Doyoung had been with him the whole time.

Being accustomed to silence, Doyoung didn't say anything as Sungchan stirred and panicked withthe ropes around his hands. He was blindfolded too to make sure he couldn't see any of them. Safety was the utmost priority — despite who he is.

"I can feel you, you know. Your energy is strong," Sungchan said. Doyoung didn't speak.

"Are you causing this cold?" Sungchan asked. "Can you tone it down? Or give me a sweater?"

Again. No answer.

Sungchan sighed. He gave up trying to look over his shoulder. It was dark, and it was cold. If he wanted the other man in the room to talk to him, he needed to prove his loyalties.

"You know why I'm here, I'm guessing. You wouldn't have bound me up if you didn't," Sungchan laughed before trying to find comfort in his situation. "I know you don't trust me, especially knowing what I was placed here to do but believe me, I didn't want to be here. The past I had… I don't want that to be your future."

Doyoung snickered. The noise made Sungchan calm down. "It's nice to know I'm actually not alone," he said.

"You've known for a while that I was here, or you wouldn't have kept talking," Doyoung answered. He tried to alter his voice to sound deeper. Sungchan recognized the inauthenticity but ignored it.

"You want me to trust you?" Doyoung asked. Sungchan nodded, "Tell me how you send information to the High Reeve."

Sungchan sighed. He knew this was coming. "I don't send anything directly to the High Reeve. He doesn't get involved in these matters but his people, the government has me mapping people of power," he started explaining. "I'm a telekinetic. I can communicate with the smallest of things — things we didn't know could be communicated to. I can sense when there's an unusual shift of energy in the air."

"Like when someone uses their powers,"

"Yes."

"So you can sense me?"

"Yes. It's quite strong — your energy." Doyoung stayed quiet. The whole purpose why he was the one left with Sungchan was because it he was the one who was most level-headed and would probably the only one to get the answers quickly. The thing is, Doyoung didn't know what to say.

It was still too much of a shock that this was the same boy that Jaehyun's mother brought home one day already old enough to have experienced too many things they didn't even witness. Doyoung was conflicted — he was his best friend's brother, but he also worked with the government. It overwhelmed him.

"So how long will it take for them to get here?" Doyoung asked. "What?" was Sungchan's response.

"If you could feel my energy it means they already know I'm here, right?" Sungchan was quiet in his chair. He looked down at his feet and started thinking. Whenever he felt unusual energy like this, the guards would've been there the next minute. The fact that no guards were storming the place meant that something was wrong. In fact, Sungchan noticed it was too quiet inside his head. Whenever he was around this much energy, there was an uncomfortable noise in his head — the machine attached to his brain would have been making a lot of noise. 

But he couldn't hear anything The room was too silent to miss it. "Sungchan?" Doyoung called. Sungchan raised his brow in confusion. He didn't remember telling him his name.

"Did I tell you my name?" Sungchan voiced out. He suddenly felt the room grow colder. Sungchan decided not to push the issue further, convincing himself that he probably did say his name sometime between arriving at the orphanage and him waking up from his unconscious state. Besides, he didn’t want to stay in the cold. 

"I can't feel them," he admitted. "What?" Doyoung asked. Sungchan explained his dilemma — the lack of noises he usually heard, the lack of guards storming the place and just the entire unfamiliarity of the situation. "Are you saying that in order for me to trust you?" Doyoung said once Sungchan finished explaining.

"No," he started. "I don't know," he added. Doyoung watched him from behind curiously. "I've got to talk to some people. Someone else will be coming to check on you," Doyoung said. He stood up, and he noticed Sungchan craning his neck towards him but failing.

"How do you know my name?" Sungchan suddenly asked when he heard the door open. The room felt a little less cold now making Sungchan assume that the cold was because of the man in the room. "Do you know me?" he added.

He heard a snicker. "Yes. I did." He felt something drape over his shoulder then suddenly the door closed. 

It was a sweater. 

**_The Attic  
_** **_Yuta's Room  
_ ** **_10 am_ **

"That doesn't mean we can trust him," Yuta said once Doyoung was finished retelling his interaction with Sungchan in the room. "That's exactly what I was saying," Doyoung said. He and Yuta looked over at Jaehyun who had been quiet during the whole time.

Doyoung sighed and sat beside him on Yuta's bed. "What do you think we should do?" he asked. Jaehyun groaned, "I don't know, Do. I want to trust him — he's my brother — but at the same time, he works for the people we're trying to avoid."

He lied down on Yuta's bed in frustration and covered his eyes with an arm, trying to block the light away, so he could think. Neither Yuta nor Doyoung said anything, waiting for Jaehyun to say something. But he didn't say anything. He just laid there and looked at the ceiling, as if giving up.

"There's something else you guys need to know," Yuta said after a while wanting to change the course of the conversation. They had a lot to talk about and thinking of ways to solve one problem and not do anything else is just wasting their time.

"You remember the rumours, about a city where people with special abilities like us lived?" Yuta asked. Doyoung nodded, and Jaehyun rose from the bed to look at Yuta with an expectant look.

"Vision City?" Doyoung asked. Yuta nodded, "I think it's real," he said passing a notebook to Doyoung and Jaehyun. Doyoung took it and started reading through it. It was a journal, of sorts, and written there were things about Vision City the rumours failed to talk about.

"This could all be made up, Yuta," Doyoung said after a while. Jaehyun took the notebook from Doyoung and continued reading. "No one has seen Vision City in years. Where did you even find this notebook?" Doyoung asked.

"It's my father's. I saw it in one of my things," Yuta explained. "I trust my father," he said. Doyoung stared at him detecting the quiver in his voice. _Was he lying?_ Doyoung thought but shook the thought out of his head. Yuta wouldn't have a reason to lie to any of them.

"It says here that there are other journals. Where are they?" Jaehyun suddenly asked. "I don't know, but I feel they're somewhere in the house," Yuta answered.

"In the house? Not just the attic?" Yuta stared at Doyoung with a shy smile. Doyoung, realizing what Yuta was thinking, suddenly started complaining. "It's too dangerous, Yuta. What if there are guards downstairs?"

"Chenle said there isn't?"

"Well, they might have just been keeping quiet!"

"We can't stay in this attic forever, Do! We need to leave to survive and finding those journals are the best way to find Vision City," Yuta said.

Doyoung clucked his tongue, "We don't even know if that city is real!"

"Then I'll die trying to find a place where we can be able to live as ourselves and not hide forever," Yuta remarked. Doyoung released a frustrated grunt and looked at Jaehyun as if asking him to be the one to talk some sense in Yuta. But Jaehyun looked at Doyoung with a sad smile.

"Ah fuck," Doyoung said.

"I'm sorry, Do. It makes sense," Jaehyun explained. "Fine, but we have to plan," Doyoung said. "And we can't bring the others into this. It's too dangerous. It'll be the three of us or no one."

**DAY 9**

**_The Orphanage  
_** **_Second Floor  
_ ** **_1 am_ **

"Did we really have to do this in the middle of the night?" Doyoung whispered.

"What? You wanted to do this in the mid-morning?" Yuta said. Jaehyun shushed them wondering why Doyoung even thought it was a good idea to have just the three of them.

"Do you even know where to find these journals, Yuta?" Doyoung whispered. Yuta, who had been leading them, shrugged. "Probably a study or a library. Aren't those where most journal things are?" He said. "Where do we even find the study in this big house?" Doyoung asked exasperated. Yuta shrugged again, grinned at him, and opened a door. Behind it was a small study, the tables and books looked old and everything was dusty as if no one even bothered to go in. "I pride myself for remembering," Yuta said before entering the room. Doyoung felt something cut through his heart. Yuta moved through the room as if having been there for years but Doyoung didn't remember his childhood — he only ever remembered the attic, and the memories he made there. He didn't even remember his parents.

"Are you alright?" He heard Jaehyun asked beside him. Doyoung looked at him, and he had this innocent smile on his face. "Yeah. It brings back memories," he lied. Jaehyun smiled. "Yeah, it does."

He looked around, reminiscent. "Well, let's get finding then, so we could go back to the attic fast."

 ******_The Attic_ ** **_  
_ ** **_The Room at the End of the Hall  
_****_2:30 am_**

Mark Lee was assigned to watch over Jung Sungchan from midnight to early morning. He didn't particularly like getting into other people's room, but it was safer than moving Sungchan somewhere else in the house.

The new environment didn't do him any good though. Without Jaemin's ramblings at night or whispers while asleep, Mark found himself not being able to fall asleep at all — which was good, of course, because he shouldn't be sleeping at all.

"You don't seem comfortable," Sungchan suddenly said looking over at him. Mark had lied down on Doyoung's bed which was beside the chair where Sungchan was sitting on. He snickered, "Speak for yourself."

Sungchan stared at him for a while. Mark felt blood rush to his cheeks — he had never been observed that intently before. "You're the first person I've seen in two days apart from the landlady," Sungchan admitted. Mark raised a brow in question. "I'm not the first one to watch over you, though."

"Yes. But they stayed behind me rather than beside me," Sungchan said. "It's nice to see another person," he muttered.

Mark felt a swell of pity but tried not to show it. This was supposed to be their prisoner — he shouldn't be feeling generous.

"Aren't you one of them?" Sungchan asked. "Hmm?" Mark asked.

"I can't feel your energy," Sungchan explained. Mark nodded in understanding and smiled. "There's really no point in using my powers so willy-nilly."

Sungchan stared at him curiously. "What can you do then?" he asked. Mark shifted on the bed to make him more comfortable and stared at Sungchan.

"Give me your hand," Mark said. Sungchan started moving his hands that were tied behind him. "Ah, right!" Mark said. He took another chair in the room instead and put it in front of Sungchan.

"I'm a fortune-teller, or something of that sorts. I can detect life in something or someone, much like you do, and I can see their past and their future," Mark explained.

"Even objects?" Sungchan asked. Mark nodded, "As long as there's a story behind it, I'd know."

"Can you tell me my future?" Sungchan said, sounding excited. "What kind of future do you hope for me to see?" Mark asked. Sungchan looked up, a thinking look on his face. "I hope for a future where I'm free of my past."

Mark looked down at his hands, with a small smile painting his face. "I can't tell you if that's going to be your future, or what your future would really be. There's too much trouble in telling someone their future," Mark said, sadly. "Besides, I only see pieces of it. It's the past I'm great with."

"Would you like to see my past then?" Sungchan asked. Mark eyed him curiously before saying, "Would you allow me to see it?"

To Mark's surprise, Sungchan nodded.

* * *

Sungchan's past resonated two emotions — despair and desperation. From a young age, he had been sold to be a weapon of the government against the people like him. He had never known his father, and only knew his mother for a short time — they were separated once he could think for himself. He didn't even know he had a brother.

After being separated from his mother, he was raised by the High Reeve — if you were using the term lightly. Sungchan only saw glimpses of the High Reeve. Whenever they ate together, they'd share a room but never a table. When he was a bit younger, the High Reeve will see him to sleep but once he grew old, that never happened again. He never thought the High Reeve as more than he was — never really had the chance to bond with him but nevertheless, Sungchan considered him family because he never really had any of those to compare the High Reeve to.

When Sungchan turned 13, he started his job with the government. He was told that he'd be finding people like him and that made him excited — finally he'd have friends but his new friends never ended up staying. Once the guards take them in, Sungchan would never see them again. He had tried to ask what happened to the people they captured, but he was shut up, being told that it wasn't his business and he was only needed until the capture. Of course, having to live in the heart of the Capital, Sungchan had heard the rumours — people like him were used as bioweapons, or experimented on to see what makes them different. This scared Sungchan, and he always wondered what would happen to him once the government grew tired of him.

So he planned to escape.

The first few tries failed but one time, he had almost been successful, but it was the High Reeve that caught him. Ever since then, he was tied to the government. His energy fed to a machine so that wherever he was he'd be found.

"I never tried again after that," Sungchan said. He smiled at Mark who had been watching him intently.

"I know you don't trust me, but I would never do anything to put any in harm's way if I had a choice," Sungchan remarked. Mark smiled, "I can't say anything about the rest, but I trust you."

Sungchan would've cried or said something equally sentimental but the door suddenly opened, a breathless Jaemin standing behind it.

"Taeil's gone. He left," he said.

 **_The Attic  
_** **_Dining Room  
_ ** **_10 am_ **

_"I have come to a conclusion that I would die here whether in one of your hands or of my own. I realized that there is no point staying, so I will turn myself in._

_No matter how many plans we make, we will be caught. We are an anomaly to a perfect world. We weren't meant to live here._

_I'm sorry for betraying all of your trust, but this is the choice I made. - Moon Taeil"_ Doyoung read out loud the note that Taeil left them.

"If he turns himself in, we're going to be found out soon enough," Jaehyun said. This caused a murmur of panic around the room.

"What do we do then?" Jaemin asked.

Jaehyun looked to Yuta and Doyoung. They had been planning since the early morning after finding the journals and finding out more about Vision City. From what they've read, it seemed like their parents have known about the existence of the City for decades and were sure that it did exist — only they hadn't found it before they got caught.

"We're planning to leave," Yuta said.

"Where do we go?" Jeno asked.

"Vision City," Yuta revealed. "We don't know where it is yet, but we found out that to find it, we must follow the path of the oldest buildings."

"That's too much work. The New World is a big place. We can't go around everywhere just to find what the oldest buildings are. It could take years," Jaemin complained.

"Not with Mark," Yuta remarked. Mark, who had been listening silently, cursed.

"Fine," he said when everyone had looked at him hopefully. "I'll start looking now," he said, exiting the room.

"Now, Jaehyun, Johnny and I will plan. The rest of you pack your things. Only get what's necessary," Yuta said. Doyoung stared at the three of them and wondered why he wasn't part of the planning. He stayed back for a while, but he only got ignored. Sighing, he retreated to his room.

 **_The Attic  
_** **_Living Area  
_ ** **_3pm_ **

"What do we do about Sungchan?" Jeno suddenly asked. All their things were already packed — they all only had one bag to carry.

"We can't take him," Jaemin said at the same time that Mark said, "I want to take him."

Everybody looked at Mark as if he'd grown insane. "It's too dangerous, Mark," Jaehyun said.

"He's your brother!"

"Yes, but he works for the government," Jaehyun muttered.

"I've seen his past — he didn't have a choice. He doesn't want that life like we were led to believe. He just wants to live a normal life," Mark pleaded. Jaehyun looked torn. He had wanted to take his brother, but he didn't know how to take him without attracting the government towards their whereabouts.

Yuta groaned, "The government can find him anywhere. It's too dangerous!"

"His connection to the government is rooted on his energy. If we could take away his powers then we can evade the government," Mark argued.

"Energy comes back, Mark. It's never truly destroyed," Yuta pointed out. "OK. Then we take away his powers a few times a day," Mark looked at Yuta trying to challenge him. This was his area of expertise.

"Mark, that will kill him!" Jaemin said through gritted teeth. Mark ignored Jaemin and continued staring Yuta down.

"I won't leave here if we don't take him," Mark threatened. 

"Mark, why are you doing this for someone you just met?" Jeno chided.

Mark sighed, "He's one of us. There aren't very many of us. We fight for each other or not at all."

"But we're going to need you," Jaehyun said. Mark shrugged, "You just have to go to Dream City. From there, I'll expect it'll be easier," Mark said.

Yuta sighed and then nodded his approval. Jaemin complained, "You'll heal me, won't you, Jaem?"

Jaemin looked at Yuta exasperatedly. "If anything happens to us, I'll leave you to rot, Mark Lee," Jaemin said turning to Mark before leaving the room.

 **_The Attic  
_** **_The Room at the End of the Hall  
_ ** **_4pm_ **

"You should've just agreed to leave me," Sungchan said as Mark removed the binds on his wrist. "What? Didn't you want to escape?" Mark said.

Jaehyun walked in the door. "Can I pack my bags?" he asked looking at Mark. The latter smiled, and walked out of the room leaving Sungchan and Jaehyun. "Maybe you should tell him who you are," Mark said before he closed the door behind him.

Sungchan had stayed quiet when Mark left having not found the others as easy to talk to. Jaehyun flitted around the room as if Sungchan wasn't there.

"You can talk to me, you know?" Jaehyun said as he folded his clothes. "Don't you have things to pack?" he added. Sungchan shrugged, "I didn't get to unpack," he answered pointing at the bags near the door. Jaehyun nodded in understanding, and laughed.

"We're sorry for that, by the way," Jaehyun said pointing to him and at the chair. "I get it. I would've done the same," Sungchan assured.

They lapsed in a silence for a while. Jaehyun continued packing. He even took Sungchan's bags and placed them beside his.

"What did he mean?" Sungchan asked, remembering something. "When he said to tell me who you are?" he added. Jaehyun smiled, then started removing his sweater.

Sungchan backed away not knowing what to do. Jaehyun rubbed his wrist and then showed Sungchan the runic tattoo he had.

Sungchan's eyes widened. "I have the same one," he said. "What does that mean?"

"Mom was a sorcerer. She put these symbols on our wrist so that we know which family we were born to, and so we could find each other again when we're lost."

"Are you saying...." "I'm your brother. Not that you remember me at all," Jaehyun said.

It was all too much of a shock for Sungchan. Suddenly, his head was filled with questions and things he wanted to say. He wanted to know about the stories of when they were young, about their parents, about Jaehyun's life. Before he could ask any questions though, the door opened with Yuta saying.

"We have to go. They're coming."

 **_The Attic  
_** **_Dining Room  
_ ** **_4:30 pm_ **

"Jeno teleport Mark, and Jaemin first. Then once I'm done with Sungchan, you transport me and him," Yuta reminded everyone. Jeno nodded. Mark and Jaemin had their bags worn waiting for a signal. "Doyoung follows with Chenle and then Jaehyun with Johnny," he added. "If it takes more than ten minutes to get anyone out of the house, you should go ahead," Yuta told Jeno. "You must always remember to save yourselves," he said to everyone.

Chenle was aggressively taping his knees on the floor. He had heard the cars from a mile away, and had been telling them how close the guards were to the house every minute.

"They're near!" Chenle said. "They're very near."

Yuta looked at Jeno and nodded. The latter already had his arms around Mark and Jaemin. After a second they were gone.

"This might tingle a bit. Your powers will come back in about five hours, so I'll take it away again before then," Yuta said as he positioned himself behind Sungchan. Sungchan closed his eyes. He felt his powers drain away from him. It felt like an odd sense of déjà vu — he felt the same way when he entered the orphanage. He was scared he'd pass out again.

After a while, he heard a pop beside him and Jeno was reaching out a hand. "Now that wasn't so bad was it?" Yuta said, taking his bag. Chenle shoved Sungchan's bag towards him to make him go faster. Remembering the plan, he took his bags and grabbed Jeno's hand. A second later they were gone.

"They're here," Chenle shouted. Doyoung grabbed a hold of his hand as they waited for Jeno.

"Johnny, it's time," Jaehyun said. Johnny started disillusioning the whole attic. It looked like it was falling in on itself and Chenle leaped closer towards Doyoung watching what was going on. Doyoung looked around with wide eyes, suddenly realizing what the other three had planned and growing furious that he didn't know. He was about to complain but Jaehyun started to light his hands on fire.

"What are you doing?" Doyoung asked. Jaehyun smirked. There was a glint in his eyes that Doyoung didn't quite trust. "I'm going to burn the house down!" he remarked.

"Jung Jaehyun!" Doyoung said, trying to command him to stop. Jeno popped in a second later, suddenly cursing.

"What the fuck is going on?" he asked. Jaehyun had already started setting fire to the furniture.

"Stick to the plan, Jen," Jaehyun called out.

Jeno took Chenle'd hand but Doyoung refused to go. Jaehyun noticed this and stopped. "What are you doing?" Jaehyun asked. "I-" Doyoung started.

Jaehyun stepped closer towards him and took him into a hug. "Don't say it. We'll see each other again, you can tell it then," Jaehyun said.

Doyoung's word stuck to the back of his throat. There was so many things he wanted to say to Jaehyun and the fear he was feeling threatened to make the words spill.

"Go! I'll see you in a second," Jaehyun said again, lightly pushing Doyoung towards Jeno. Doyoung still looked at him worriedly as he took Jeno's hand.

"I'll be there in a second," Jaehyun repeated the moment before Jeno transported them away.

Jaehyun continued to set the house on fire. The footsteps on the stairs grew louder and Jaehyun could see Johnny looking scared. He turned the fire up and watched as the roof started falling.

"Johnny, you can stop the illusion. We have to go," Jaehyun called. Johnny appeared in front of the door with a sad smile on his face. Jaehyun heard Jeno popped in behind him.

"You both go. I'll distract them," Jaehyun said. "This isn't the plan, Johnny!" Jaehyun said. "You won't survive this fire!" Jaehyun shouted.

"I don’t plan to survive, Jae” he said. “I don't have anything to live for any more," Johnny suddenly disguised the door as a wall which froze both Jaehyun and Jeno. They heard shouts behind the wall and realized that the guards had probably found Johnny. Jaehyun cursed, before igniting the whole room on fire just as Jeno teleported him away.

 **_The Forest outside the Orphanage  
_** **_6pm_ **

Doyoung was restless. He paced around the area waiting for Jaehyun. The orphanage glinted behind them, the fire rising higher and higher.

A few seconds later, a pop was heard and Jaehyun and Jeno staggered towards the forest.

Doyoung rushed to Jaehyun checking if there are burns. “Are you okay?” he asked. 

“I’m fine,” Jaehyun said, smiling at Doyoung. 

Yuta looked around and started counting everyone.

"Where's Johnny?" Yuta asked. Jaehyun just shook his head. Yuta sighed and nodded. He took a hold of his bags and started leading the group, "Let's start walking then. There's a lot of ground to cover."

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> This was definitely a struggle to write. I wrote a whole outline to this a week after I got the assignment, but as soon as I started writing, the outline just got thrown out the window. 
> 
> I do hope all of you liked it, especially to skydancer8 who I am giving this too. I'm sorry there's not much DoJae here but I promise for the next chapters I'll flesh out their relationship more. 
> 
> It gets much more intense for the next two chapters, so I hope you continue to check it out. 
> 
> Thank you for reading this! and I'm sorry if you didn't like it. Leave comments and kudos. Tell me what I did great, what I can do better, and what I probably shouldn't be doing ever again.


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